Sonoma: Hillary Will preview

Will looks forward to return to Infineon Raceway

KENT, Wash. (July 24, 2006) -- Hillary Will, driver of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster, is looking forward to her first professional race at Infineon Raceway, the site of the 19th annual NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals this weekend.

First, Infineon Raceway is where Will honed her driving skills as she began her sportsman racing career and is the track that the rookie driver on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series considers her home track.

Second, Infineon Raceway is where Will advanced to her first final round in the sportsman class of Super Street.

The first drag race Will drove in was at a local track near her hometown of Fortuna, Calif., the Samoa Dragstrip. Once she took that first trip down the quarter-mile, Will loved everything about drag racing. She has been racing ever since that first experience.

That experience grew when her dad put Will in a little faster car and she started racing Super Street. That's when the winning started and then the young racer was really hooked. In 1999, Will went to the finals at Infineon Raceway and from that point on she knew that she was never going to be able to stop racing.

"I'll always remember Infineon Raceway," said Will. "I came here in 1999 as a novice racer and after advancing to my first final ever left Infineon knowing that I wanted to be a drag racer. I hope to not only duplicate that feat this weekend but improve on it and win the race. I definitely have the car and the team behind me that can make that a reality this weekend.

"This KB Racing team is entering Sonoma and the Fram Autolite Nationals on a positive note. I'm happy to be returning to my home track. It will be nice to return to familiar surroundings. I especially look forward to seeing the great fans that came out to Infineon Raceway when I raced there previously."

In her first season as a professional Top Fuel driver, Will has already bumped into the top ten in the NHRA POWERade point standings. She is number ten with 605 points, just 38 points behind ninth and 48 points out of eight.

This weekend, qualifying for Will and her KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed team begins with two nitro fuel sessions on Friday, July 28, scheduled for 4 and 7:30 p.m. and concludes with two additional nitro fuel sessions on Saturday, July 29, at 12 noon and 3:30 p.m. Will begins her quest for the FRAM Autolite Nationals Top Fuel title on Sunday, July 30, with eliminations for all classes beginning at 12 noon.

Prior to the start of Sunday's event, Will joins other NHRA/POWERade Drag Racing Series drivers for a fan appreciation autograph session that will take place from 9 to 9:45 a.m. on the Infineon Raceway road course next to the drag strip, in front of the start/finish grandstand. All times are local Sonoma time (PT) and subject to change at anytime.

-kb racing